The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Indeed, two representatives of the Assyrian Democratic Organization were on a European tour, in order to meet Assyro-Chaldean people to inform them about the current situation in Iraq and in Syria and to tell them the conclusions of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac conference, which was held in Baghdad from 22 till 24 October of 2003. These two persons, Mr Bashir Saadi, General Secretary of the Assyrian Democratic Organization, and Gabriel Mouch?, member of the political office of the same organization, came from Syria .
Here it is useful to remind the origins of the Assyrian Democratic Organization. The origins of ADO back up to 1957, the year when a dozen men began to meet in order to discuss the answer of the Assyro-Chaldean community to the politic of arabisation led by the Syrian regime, which always goes on the same base.
So, Mtakasta is the Assyro-chaldean political party which has had the most important longevity so far. Zawaa, the Assyrian Democratic Movement, was created in 1979. Bachir Saadi said that Zawaa was the representative of Mtakasta in Iraq and that ADO was the representative of ADM in Syria . They organized together the great international conference in Baghdad , which took place in Baghdad last October.
In the 70’s, Mtakasta participated actively in the establishment of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, which was created in France . Considerable efforts were made by the Assyrian Democratic Organization to avoid useless conflicts on the naming of our people. The beginnings were quite difficult. The purposes were to convince the young people of the necessity of political formations to advance the Assyro-Chaldean nation, to favor the training of the young people, to distribute various propaganda documents and to favor the learning of a united people having the same rights as all other peoples of the world.
In 1970, Mtakasta made some important decisions: the executives of ADO had to speak abouth both western and oriental dialects of the Neo-Aramaic language. The male members of the party had to get married to the feminine members of the organization.
The ADO principles amounted to two: the Assyro-Chaldeans are the indigenous of the ground of Mesopotamia . Therefore, they had the same rights and duties as the other ethnic groups of the Middle East . These two principles were expressed in the final statement of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac conference, which was held in Bagdhad.
The Assyrian Democratic Organization is, with the Assyrian democratic Movement, Zowaa, one of the two most important political formation of our time. Their complementarity is indisputable. Both parties are very active in Europe . The European centre of ADO is in Germany . The American office is in Chicago .
The two responsibles of ADO were in Brussels to meet the press and to animate a conference on the Middle East . Their stay in Belgium ended on Sunday, January 18th, 2004 , after having participated in a photographic exhibition entitled ?From Tour Abdin to Hakkari?. Bashir Saadi was elected to the Syrian parliament from 1994 untill 1996. As for Gabriel Moush?, member of the committee indicated to the conference of Bagdad, he stood for the parliamentary elections in Syria , during the last electoral campaign in the name of ADO , but the results being falsified, and he was not able to enter the parliament.
Mr. Joseph Adlun made a long video-interview with both representatives. Several questions of current events were treated, as the new changes intervened in the organization, the relations with Zawaa, the Assyrian Democratic Movement, the situation of our people in Iraq , the rights and the liberties recognized in Syria for the Assyro-Chaldean people. Bashir Saadi considered that deep changes are in progress in the countries of the Middle East: in Iraq , the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein fell, so our people can hope for a better future. In Syria , our community has some rights as a monastic community but we are not recognized as a national community, we remain Arabic Christians. He hoped for changes in the coming year.
In Turkey , he said, everything begins to go better. Turkish people seem “more and more sweet” with the Assyro-Chaldean and efforts are made on behalf of the authorities to recognize a certain shape of culture, but the school works continue to distil the image of an enemy community of the Turkish nation.
During the interview made with Joseph Adlun for the Assyro-Chaldean Voice, Bashir Saadi reminded that the purpose of their visit in Europe was to meet the members of our people in Europe to increase the exchange and the dialogue between the mother country and the Assyro-Chaldean of the Diaspora, an exchange which is in the interest of both parts, which form only a single nation.
Bashir Saadi dealt with the 10th congress of ADO , which was held in August 2003. The topic of this congress was the policy of the party. Mtakasta called back by this occasion the fact that the Assyro-Chaldean constitute the indigenous people of this region between Iraq , Syria and Turkey . Our people is not a guest, he said underlining that the Assyro-Chaldean nation has to benefit from the same rights and political and cultural duties as the other ethnic groups. Every centimeter of this territory is our, as it was in past. ADO clarified during the congress that they were ready to work in narrow collaboration with other political organisations with the aim of getting all the justifiable rights of the Assyro-Chaldean people.
Gabriel Moush? explained to the Assyro-Chaldean Voice the position of the Assyrian Democratic Organization on the final statements of the conference of Baghdad . Indeed, this conference which had gathered hundreds of activists was the common initiative of Zawaa and Mtakasta. This conference had designated Yonadam Kanna as the representative of the Assyro-Chaldeans within the temporary Iraqi government and chosen the name Chaldoassyrian as national name.
Bachir Saadi also expressed himself on the brotherly relations which connect ADO with the Assyrian Democratic Movement, headed by Yonadam Kanna , especially since 1986. The common political action became intensified from the 90’s. Saadi considers as justified the representation of the Assyro-Chaldeans of Iraq by Yonadam Kanna
Both representatives of the Assyrian Democratic Organization insisted on the hopes of deep changes in Iraq for our people. Indeed, since the fall of the dictatorial regime, our people, who united under an only name, try to obtain political and cultural rights.
As for the situation in Syria , Bashir Saadi evoked the situation of the Assyro-Chaldeans: changes are expected in Syria , where the members of the community, considered as Arab Christians, enjoy some liberties. However, when they appear as an ethnic group, the same rights are not valid. Gabriel Moush?, who had stood for the Syrian general election in the name of ADO , had been a victim of fraud. The Assyro-Chaldean population amounts to 500 000 persons in Syria . In Maloula, a small Assyro-Chaldean village in the North of Syria, it is planned to settle a cultural centre for the protection of the Syriac language. The Assyro-Chaldeans of the Diaspora always have to have in their mind that Syria is an integral part of Mesopotamia , Beth Nahrain.
This interview is was produced in the Aramaic language in our program later.
Samuel Yalap
Producer
Assyro-Chaldean Voice
France
